Well your garden’s full of weeds, babyAnd you ask me whyWell your wheelbarrow’s emptyAnd your sprinkler is dryI may be a little boy, I may kick and screamI may lose my nerveBut I will never ever lose my steamCan I come over, baby? Can I give you my ring?Play a little hide and seekPush you on the playground swingMy garden is green, babyAnd you must know whyWell my wheelbarrow’s loadedAnd my sprinkler wets the skyYou don’t love me anymoreI don’t make your heart singRoll your eyes when I walk through the doorAnd you bristle at the smallest thingIt’s ok, baby, I’m gonna stick around‘Cause my wheelbarrow’s fullIn fact it’s weighted downLet me bring it on overGive you something you can put in the groundNow your garden can’t grow, babyNot without a seedGet some love in your wheelbarrow, babyAnd bring it on over to me

TRACK ONE

WHEELBARROW

I’ve no right to ride in frontOr to rest in the sleeping carI’ve no right to stand near the CaptainOr to sit where the Saints areBut before it leaves the stationWhen I hear that whistle blowI’m gonna wait ‘til it starts rollin’Run as fast as my feet can goCHORUSCalvary Train, Calvary TrainTake me to the placeWhere my soul can rest awhileRest a long, long whileTake this ancient heartReplace it with the heart of a childI’m gonna chase the cabooseReach out my hand and never look backI won’t let the engine leave meLeave me hanging on the trackCalvary Train has extra roomIt arrives track number nineCome meet me at the stationCome ride a resurrection lineREPEAT CHORUSHear the whistle blow, “Doot doot doot dooo”Do not leave JerusalemBut wait until the train has comeWhen it’s time to get on boardTell ‘em that you’re ridingRidin’ with the SonREPEAT CHORUS

TRACK TWO

CALVARY TRAIN

TRACK THREE TRACK FOUR

Well I’ve schemed and I’ve dreamedBeen bought and been soldI’ve wandered through wastelandsSearching for goldAnd I’ve prayed on my kneesIn the middle of the nightAnd was cruel and unfeelingBy the next morning’s lightCHORUSDon’t you know all that is leftAre Streams of Mercy, Streams of MercyRain ‘em downDon’t you know all that is leftAre Streams of MercyLord if you’re listening, rain ‘em downRain ‘em down on meNow I’ve crawled through the streetsIn search of a friendI’ve made the same mistakesAgain and againI’ve had my last chanceBid me farewellSeen the curtain come downHeard the very last bellREPEAT CHORUS

Now I’ve begged for smilesFrom the meanest of facesFollowed my heart into the strangest placesTold myself it’s love when it was nothing but lustThen I planted my feet in a field full of dustI’ve told myself lies just to get out of bedTook communion twice for another piece of breadI built myself a throne and got myself a crownTurned the lives of the ones that I lovedUpside downREPEAT CHORUS

Who will judge the manyWhen the game is throughRing them bellsFor the time that fliesFor the child that criesWhen innocence diesRing them bells Saint CatherineFrom the top of the roomRing them from the fortressFor the lilies that bloomOh the lines are longAnd the fighting is strongAnd they’re breaking down the distanceBetween right and wrong

Ring them bells ye heathenFrom the city that dreamsRing them bells from the sanctuariesCross the valleys and streamsFor they’re deep and they’re wideAnd the world’s on its sideAnd time is runnin’ backward nowAnd so is the brideRing them bells Saint PeterWhere the four winds blowRing them bells with an iron handSo the people will knowOh it’s rush hour nowOn the wheel and the plowAnd the sun is going down upon the sacred cowRing them bells Saint MarthaFor the poor man’s sonRing them bells so the world will know that God is oneOh the shepherd is asleep,Where the willows weepAnd the mountains are filledWith lost sheepRing them bellsFor the blind and the deafRing them bellsFor all of us who are leftRing them bells For the chosen few

STREAMS OF MERCY ~ Words And Music By Rob Mathes And Phil Naish

RING THEM BELLS ~ Words And Music By Bob Dylan

TRACK FIVE

Orphans run throughout the fieldsSmiling at the skyLaughing at the lovely thoughtOf another night gone by I’ve seen children born into nothing at allSomehow turn the concrete into a wrecking ballMy minutes are not fear-filledI have my daily breadI’m something in my mother’s eyesAnd sleep softly in my bedI have a little dream leftI have a wheel to turnJoy, joy, consider it joyWhen will I ever learn?Loved ones walk along the wallOne lays down a roseThankful for this moment‘Cause these moments come and go Don’t you knowI have seen the sorrowfulWeak with battle scarsIn the morning count their blessingsIn the evening count the starsI have written lettersThat have made my true love weepI’ve kissed her lips repeatedlyAs we watched our children sleepI have a hope inside meI have blocks of wood to burnJoy, joy, consider it joyWhen will I ever learn?Joy, joy, joyConsider it joy

CONSIDER IT JOY ~ (James 1:2)

Baby, let’s make a childWhile the skies around us tumble, make a childLet’s teach that child that the ragged manOften has more to say than the king of styleI love you, and here within your armsI could swear that nothing is wrongCHORUSDon’t you know, when it all comes downWhen it all comes downThere’ll be fields of joyFor every unanswered tearAnd some balance for the horror of these yearsDon’t you know, when it all comes downI want my child planting seeds in the ground Baby, when they’re grownI’ll still wrap my arms around themWhen they’re grownAnd I’ll tell them to remember the weakThough they’ll often want to follow the strongI love you, and I love to hear you sayWon’t you tell me child, what did you learn today?CHORUSDon’t you know, when it all comes downWhen it all comes downThere’ll be hope springs eternalThrough the valley of bonesAnd assurance we were never aloneDon’t you know, when it all comes downI want my child planting seeds in the ground

TRACK SIX TRACK SEVEN

FULL OF HALLELUJAHSThere was a time when you could help meBut I admit now, I don’t knowREPEAT CHORUSAre you full of hallelujahs?Spirit: Yes but I am walking the mileI take my hat off to youAnd maybe I’ll walk with you a little whileSpirit: Walk with meLet me see the Kingdom before you send me awaySpirit: He will never send you awayFold you hands, kneel downYou and I can pray

Lord, I’m full of hallelujahsYet I cry the whole night longI taste your milk and honeyAnd still I do you wrongThe Psalms are in the kitchenWaiting there for meYeah the Psalms are in the kitchenNot too far from DeuteronomyYet my heart is prone to wanderAnd my head is filled with miserySpirit: Did you hear the angel’s sermon?Yes I did and I gave my soul to the Son of ManSpirit: He laid his life out on a treeAnd I’m losin’ mine as fast as I canCHORUSHallelujah, hear me sing itHallelujah, watch me bring itI know You’re my shining starBut I lost my footingSpirit: You gave up hopingI can no longer read the mapTo where you areLord, I’m full of hallelujahsSpirit: See His glory in the earth and skyYet the world is deep in sorrowAnd I beg the reason whyLord, I’m full of hallelujahsAnd yet my head hangs lowSpirit: Raise it up now

WHEN IT ALL COMES DOWN ~ (for Tammy)

TRACK EIGHT

DIGNITY ~ Words And Music By Bob Dylan

Fat man lookin’ in a blade of steelThin man lookin’ at his last mealHollow man lookin’ in a cotton fieldFor DignityWise man lookin’ in a blade of grassYoung man lookin’ in the shadows that passPoor man lookin’ through painted glassFor DignityI went down to where the vultures feedI would’ve gone deeper but there wasn’t any needI heard the tongues of angelsAnd the tongues of menThere wasn’t any difference to meSearchin’ high, searchin lowSearchin everywhere I knowAskin’ the cops wherever I goHave you seen Dignity?Blind man breakin’ out of a trancePuts both his hands in the pockets of chanceHopin’ to find one circumstanceOf DignityDrinkin’ man listens to the voice he hears

In a crowded room full of covered up mirrorsLookin’ into the lost forgotten yearsFor DignityFootprints runnin’ cross the silver sandSteps goin’ down into tattoo landI met the sons of darkness and the sons of lightIn the border towns of despairChilly wind sharp as a razor bladeHouse on fire, debts unpaidGonna stand at the window, I’m gonna ask the maidHave you seen Dignity?Sick man lookin’ for the doctor’s cureLookin’ at his hands for the lines that wereAnd into every masterpiece of literatureFor DignityEnglishman stranded in the black heart windCombin’ his hair back, his future looks thinBites the bullet and he looks withinFor DignitySomebody showed me a picture and I just laughedDignity’s never been photographedI went into the red, went into the blackInto the valley of dry bone dreamsSo many roads, so much at stakeSo many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lakeSometimes I wonder what it’s gonna takeTo find Dignity

TRACK NINE

Wisdom cries in the streetShe cries through the nightWisdom cries at the gateIn the depths of the cityHow long will it take, you simple ones?How long must evil reign?Foolishness is enthronedHe lives in a palaceHe’ll probably remainFor 10,000 yearsAnd he likes his control of the peopleHe’d like to lock wisdom awayAnd I learned this as a younger manAnd I wondered, “Where is God?”CHORUSThat’s when I heard my mother prayMy mother prayIt was a sound like nothing else in the worldIt was a sound that reaches deep insideAnd I knew once I heard itThere could be no doubtSomeone was listeningPride is standing at the doorHe’s holding a mirrorHe’s looking mighty pleasedAt what he has doneTeaching in corners and in classroomsWhere all blessings come fromAnd I believed this till I caught myselfStill I wondered, “Where is God?”REPEAT CHORUS

MY MOTHER’S PRAYER

TRACK TEN

Chilly water, hallelujah to the lambI know that water is chilly and coldBut I got Jesus in my soulChilly water, hallelujah to the LambIn that ark the little dove moanedBut Christ was standing as the cornerstoneChilly water, hallelujah to the LambThe water is deep, the water is wideCan’t get over the other sideDeath is hanging, certain of doomDon’t forget, Jesus left an empty tombChilly water, hallelujah to the LambSatan is just a snake in the grassWaiting to bite you as you passChilly water, hallelujah to the LambBrothers and sisters, one and allBetter get ready, ‘fore the roll is calledChilly water, hallelujah to the Lamb

TRACK ELEVEN

CHILLY WATER (based on the Spiritual)

Love like a freight train rolling over meLove like a hard rain pounding on the windshieldI can hardly see, I can hardly seeOne day I’ll turn aroundAnd love is what will be foundAnd I’ll wake up wide-eyed, I’ll wake up wide-eyedAnd I won’t blink, won’t blink, don’t blinkFor I wanna see thy kingdom comeWake up wide-eyedFor the change that’s gonna comeLove like a switchbladeWell it’ll slash right through the gloomLove like a paper planeFlying back and forth, all across this roomOne day I’ll rise to findLove gets here right on timeAnd I’ll wake up wide-eyed, I’ll wake up wide-eyedAnd I won’t blink, won’t blink, don’t blinkFor I wanna see Thy will be doneI’ll wake up wide-eyedFor the change that’s gonna comeAngry young thingWhat do you do to make your world better?Cynical boy with a broken heartHear me nowYou can put it back togetherYes you can, yes you canYou can put it back togetherHope like the moon’s glowDarkness greets the dawn

Hope like a rainbowHow far does it go?Well, it seems to go on and onYes, it seems to go on and onOne day you’ll turn aroundAnd all of these things will be foundAnd you’ll wake up wide-eyedYou’ll wake up wide-eyedAnd you won’t blink, won’t blink, don’t blink.For you wanna see that rising sunYou’ll wake up wide-eyedFor the change that’s gonna come

WAKE UP WIDE-EYED

TRACK TWELVE

With dirt below me and black holes aboveI take my hat off to those who loveLove without judgment or promiseIt will ever be returnedThose who love after they’re badly burnedSkies full of blackbirds, give me a doveI bow down at the feet of those who loveI scream at the man on my leftCurse the man on my rightScared to walk out the front doorAnd rarely go out at nightMy courage is little, my faith is asleepMy hope is in question and my worry is deepProtect what I haveAnd pray that I liveIn comfort and at easeSome want you deadIn the name of their godSome want you down on your kneesWith dirt below me and black holes aboveI bow down at the feet of those who loveWith dirt below me and black holes aboveI take my hat off to those who loveLove never bending or breakingServing those who’ve no voiceThose who live as if their love was not a choiceSky full of buzzards and black hawksCan you show me a dove?Cause I bow down at the feet Of those who love

THOSE WHO LOVE

TRACK FOURTEEN

It may be patient, it may be kindIt may bring you peace of mindIt may be eternal and ever newIt may be strong, it may be trueBut it isn’t easyIt won’t always lay you downIt often suffers, often worriesAnd once it wore a thorny crownCHORUSYeah this one wordIs not shelter from the rainThis one wordCan’t shield the broken heart from painYet lives have been givenSo this one word might ring clearThis one word is all I long to hearLove, love, loveThat’s what I’m talking aboutIt may not envy, it may not boastMay not be haughty or cruelIt may be embracing and ever wondrousA stream that’s flowingA precious jewelBut it isn’t lightIt can be crushing hard as stoneLeave you wanting, leave you bleedingOn a cross and all aloneREPEAT CHORUS

I speak in the tongues of menBut I’ve heard the tongues of angelsI don’t want to be a gong crashingDon’t want to be a cymbal clangingIt may protect, it may persevereMay never tarry, may never strayNot easily angered, nor self-seekingMay never fail or pass awayBut in it’s hoping, in its faith and with a songStill it’s beaten and it’s brokenAnd its road is ever longREPEAT CHORUS

Archive: THIS ONE WORD ~

Rob Mathes: Vocals, Piano, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, Acoustic and Electric Guitars (Solo on Dignity and Calvary Train), String and Horn Arrangements; Billy Masters: Electric and Electric Slide Guitars (Solo on Wheelbarrow and Full of Hallelujahs); Will Lee: Bass; Zev Katz: Bass on Streams of Mercy; Shawn Pelton: Drums and Percussion, Programming

Horns: Jeff Kievit: Trumpet; Tony Kadleck: Trumpet (Plunger Solo on My Mother’s Prayer); Aaron Heick: Alto Sax; David Mann: Tenor Sax; Roger Rosenberg: Baritone Sax; Mike Davis: Trombone; George Flynn: Bass Trombone

Strings Contracted by Isobel Griffiths for Isobel Griffiths Ltd. London, UK; Thomas Bowes: Concertmaster; Perry Montague-Mason: Second Violin Leader; Peter Lale: Viola Leader; Tony Pleeth: Cello Leader

Background Vocals: James “D-Train” Williams; Vaneese Thomas; Ian Cron (on Streams of Mercy)

Rhythm tracks recorded at MSR Studios, NYC (formerly Legacy Studios) in August, 2007 by Jan Folkson except: Streams of Mercy recorded at Sound On Sound Recording Studios, NYC in October, 2005 by Mark Mandelbaum

Strings recorded at Abbey Road Studio One, London in March 2009 by Jonathan Allen; Final overdubs recorded at MSR Studios, NYC in March 2014 by Jamie Siegel and Alex Venguer; Vanesse Thomas’ Vocals, Acoustic Dobro and 12-String Acoustic overdubs recorded by Wayne Warnecke at Peaceful Waters Music, Pound Ridge, NY; Additional recording at JRock Studios, NYC in January, 2015 by Jamie Siegel; Mixed at JRock Studios by Jamie Siegel; Mastered at Masterdisk by Scott Hull

Portrait of Rob by Shawna Hamic; Photography: Chris Jordan www.chrisjordan.com; Art Direction & Design: Jeff Lyons morningtoncrescent.co.nz

Management: Crush Music, Jonathan Daniel and Jon Lullo--I am so lucky to be a part of your team. Thank you JD and Jon!

Dignity incorporates elements of “Tears Inside” by Ornette Coleman in the Horn Arrangement, published by Composers Music (ASCAP)

The archival bonus track from Trinity Church’s Arts Sunday was recorded by Iris Cohen and Rick Bernier. Rory Young graciously brought all his microphones from Acme Recording that morning to document the service. The musicians and vocalists graciously approved me releasing this somewhat crude recording in tribute to that hallowed time, and the community that Ian Cron nurtured all those years.

The musicians at that service were: James D-Train Williams: Vocals; Cindy Mizelle: Vocals; Lynn Witty: Vocals; Ian Cron: Vocals; Rob Mathes: Keys, Lead Vocal; Sean Witty: Electric Guitar; Chris Coogan: Hammond B3; Wayne Zito: Bass; Tony Cruz: Drums; Jim Clark: Tenor Sax; Andy Snitzer: Alto Sax; Mike Davis: Trombone; Jeff Kievit: Trumpet

CREDITS

FROM ROB

IN 1995 MY GIFTED friend Ian Cron started a church out of a service he was leading at Stanwich Congregational in Greenwich, CT. In his mind, we needed a “Church for the Rest of Us.” This was six years before that fateful Tuesday morning in September of 2001. In many ways, Ian was prescient. He believed in metaphor and also believed in the concept of mystery and silence; a universe of questions. He saw the danger in fundamentalism. He encouraged me to write song after song after song. I brought in new arrangements of Dylan songs and countless spirituals. This was not a church without a cross, but it was one with open windows and an open door.

The songs collected. I performed the best of them at a club called Satalla in New York City during the Spring and Fall of 2005, with the incredible tribe of musical warriors featured here. Satalla’s booking manager was my friend Steve Lurie, who used to run one of the best record stores in New England, Al Franklin’s Musical World. These songs felt like the real sequel to Evening Train, up to now the quintessential Rob Mathes record. Like the ones on Train, they combined the profane and the sacred. “When It All Comes Down” was a tribute to my wife Tammy, who was teaching reading that Tuesday morning at Hamilton Avenue School in Byram, CT. “Consider It Joy” was written after returning from a wrenching trip to Rwanda, one where we met countless orphans. So many of the rest of these came from this exploration of the spiritual tradition that Ian allowed me throughout the hallowed years of this “Church for the Rest of Us.”

One of his greatest gifts was to allow me to sing the song “Everywhere” at his last Christmas Eve service as founding pastor. That song is on an EP of the same name that I released a half decade ago. In the song I ask questions through-out, in dialogue with a boy named Max Scotti, a student in my wife’s first grade class who was then dying of brain cancer. In light of what he was going through the questions were: “Where is Mary?? Where are the angels?? Where are they now??” The value of Ian’s openness cannot be underestimated and I could never repay him for that venue, that platform, that space where I could bring in these charred and flawed offerings. One of the last services we had, before Ian left to become a full time writer, was one where there was no sermon: just the poetry of Denise Levertov, Mary Oliver and Seamus Heaney and this kind of music. An archive of one of the songs from that service is included at the very end of this disc. A shout-out should be given to Sean Witty, one of Ian’s associates and partners in crime, if you will, from those days.

Why did this take so long to finish? I don’t have a great answer. Ian left. He sought new adventures. I had a bit of a crisis of faith, to use a hackneyed phrase, and never finished. I then wrote the somewhat raw record Flesh and Spirit. I wanted to record something live in the studio that went places lyrically that I hadn’t dared before. And yet.......... these tracks beckoned; tracks featuring Billy Master’s extraordinary guitar work and Will and Shawn’s groove; this wondrous band carved by many years together.

Here’s to the Churches for the Rest of Us. There is a lot more music from those years that was never recorded. Hymns, choruses, laments, celebrations. Thank you Ian.

THANKS TO MY BELOVED Tammy Hume; my girls Emma, Sarah and Lily and the hundreds of friends, musicians, engineers, studio managers and family who, after a decade, helped this bluesy shard of raggedness and good news to get finished. I am profoundly grateful to God for the blessing of music and the privilege of making it with deep and soulful musicians of this caliber.

THANK YOU

www.robmathes.com

WHEELBARROW} }

1. Wheelbarrow 5:01 2. Calvary Train 5:58 3. Streams Of Mercy 4:04 4. Ring Them Bells 4:55 5. Consider It Joy 4:40 6. Full Of Hallelujahs 5:56 7. When It All Comes Down 4:22 8. Dignity 4:51 9. My Mother’s Prayer 6:51 10. Chilly Water (Spiritual) 3:49 11. Wake Up Wide-Eyed 5:44 12. Those Who Love 5:58

ROB MATHES WHEELBARROW

All songs composed by Rob Mathes, Published by Maybe I Can Music (BMI), Except: Streams of Mercy written by Rob Mathes and Phil Naish published by Maybe I Can Music (BMI), River Oaks Music (BMI) and Naishing Teeth Music (BMI), Ring Them Bells and Dignity written by Bob Dylan published by Special Rider Music (SESAC)

Photography: Chris Jordan www.chrisjordan.com